Shipments of New iPhone Models Begin Arriving in the U.S. Ahead of Next Week's Media Event

With Apple having issued invitations for its September 10 media event where it is expected to introduce its next-generation iPhone 5S and 5C models, MacRumors has learned from a reliable source that the company has already begun shipments of at least some of the new hardware into the United States.

As is not unheard of for the company, Apple is already beginning to stockpile units in the United States for quick distribution to carrier partners, other third-party retail partners, and its own channels. With the new iPhone hardware expected to be introduced at next Tuesday's media event, Apple's pattern with previous releases suggests that the new models would launch in the U.S. and other first wave countries about a week and a half later, with Friday, September 20 being the most likely date.

blue_white_yellow_iphone_5c_packaged


C Technology, which has been posting a number of photos of alleged iPhone 5C units, packaging, and manuals, has also claimed on its Sina Weibo account (via @MobilesPie) that 1.2 million iPhone 5C units were shipped to the United States yesterday.

With the packaged iPhone 5C units showing up in a number of photographs over the past few days, it seems reasonable to believe that the device may indeed be ready for shipment ahead of next week's media event. Little to no specific evidence of iPhone 5S units being ready for shipment has been seen, and it is unclear whether that device is included in the U.S. shipments we are hearing about.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple Glasses Purple Feature

Apple Smart Glasses Launching in 2026

Thursday May 22, 2025 12:22 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week. Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
maxresdefault

OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's AI Startup to 'Completely Reimagine What It Means to Use a Computer'

Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices. In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
iPod shuffle generations

Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle

Thursday May 22, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The big news in the technology world this week is that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working more closely with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on a futuristic AI device. The company is remaining tight lipped about the device, but Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared some alleged details about its design. In a social media post today, Kuo said the device will be "slightly larger" ...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...

Top Rated Comments

Mad Mac Maniac Avatar
153 months ago
Where are all the "No way Apple would ever release that plastic garbage!" people now?? :rolleyes:
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
netvvork Avatar
153 months ago
tease me

wow. nothing left up the imagination anymore. i was looking forward to some surprises at the keynote. i still check this site 200 times a day though :rolleyes:
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmichaelb Avatar
153 months ago
I'm glad to hear units are arriving already and all...

But that 5C packaging is hopefully fake, it all looks like cheap Chinese ripoff packaging.
It looks like the current iPod packaging.

Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmichaelb Avatar
153 months ago
Please, god, let there be 32gig models.
Not going to happen. 16GB for the 5C, 5S starts at 32GB. That will help differentiate the two models.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hakone Avatar
153 months ago
In the keynote:

"... and you can get yours today"

/applause/
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ElTorro Avatar
153 months ago
It's evident that with Tim's doubling down on security, we are almost at the point where we will be able to track the shipment of the 5C units from all the way from Foxconn.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)